These organizations will educate members about global warming and support solutions promoting economic prosperity. The program, which is the first of its kind to build a blue-collar constituency for global warming solutions, highlights the opportunities for high-paying domestic jobs in renewable energy, clean technology and green manufacturing while examining risks associated with climate change.
"We are looking towards a future – a very near future – in which good, high-paying American jobs will be created with the onset of a green economy," said Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers. "Developing, manufacturing, installing and maintaining new technologies to fuel our homes and businesses will create a whole new industry that will translate into millions of new jobs."
In March, BGA, Steelworkers and Sierra Club launched the “Green Jobs for America!” campaign to define clean renewable energy and global warming solutions as key ways to rebuild the nation’s manufacturing infrastructure.
BGA also coordinated the first national green jobs conference, “Good Jobs, Green Jobs,” which drew more than 1,000 leaders from the environmental, civil rights and labor movements, as well as academic, business and government institutions.
"We believe a renewable energy strategy can get our economy moving again and create a new generation of domestic manufacturing jobs while solving global warming," said David Foster, BGA executive director. "During World War II we built more than 50 planes a day. We should be able to build a renewable energy plant a week to protect our environment, end our addiction to foreign oil and lead to new industries that will create thousands of real jobs."
The Alliance for Climate Protection was founded by Vice President Al Gore. Other coalition partners include Girls Scouts of the USA, the Audubon Society and the Earth Day Network. For more information, visit http://www.wecansolveit.org.
